Clear of Cloud

Permit to Fly

Great news, HI received her Permit to Fly from the LAA yesterday.  She's now fully finished and ready to go (ish).  Now that we have a permit, Pete's going to do some shakedown flying just to make sure he's happy that everything is in order.  Next up on the list of things to do is to get me trained up!

I've got my instructor lined up but trying to get our schedules in synch and get the weather to co-operate will be a challenge but then isn't that what flying is about.  

Time to go flying I think.

A Beacon that Couldn't be Bettered

I've been putting off buying a PLB (personal locator beacon) for a while for a couple of reasons: one, I don't need one right now and two; I couldn't afford the one I wanted. 

Originally, I wanted a McMurdo Fastfind Max-G, which was the guts of £400.  They've come down but they are still well over £320.  Then, recently McMurdo launched a lower cost PLB, the Fastfind 210 (About £230).  It's a slightly lower specification device but it is a lot of safety equipment for the money. The big differences between the two are that the MaxG runs for 48 hours and is buoyant while the 210 runs for 24 hours and is not buoyant (though it is waterproof to the same level as the MaxG)

I would be happy enough with the 24 hour runtime as I would expect a recovery from any situation that I foresee myself in could be effected in that time. The buoyancy issue is more significant. In the case of a ditching the last thing I want to do is get wetter, crying, as my life-saving PLB transmits in vain from the depths of the Irish Sea.

McMurdo do make a buoyancy pouch for the 210 to make it float, so one of those plus tethering the PLB to your person got mitigate the floating issue to some extent.

That was where I was at in my decision making. Today, I bought a PLB. The MaxG? No. I got the best PLB there is, the Fastfind 210...discounted. I was offered a brand new Fastfind for under £200 and I couldn't refuse it. Is the Fastfind 210 the best beacon, perhaps not but the PLB you own and have with you when you need it is infinitely better than any higher spec one sitting the shop.

Contracting Horizons, Spectacular Visibility.

M. from the flight school gave me a call the other day to see if I wanted to go flying this weekend. He and P. were planning a flight to Haverfordwest and they were looking for me to make join the crew - I think more for my local knowledge, than my aviating skill, which is a bit rough around the edges at the moment.

By Sunday, the flight's ambitions had shrunk to Cork. Cork, I had never been to Cork Aiport, not quite as adventurous as Wales but it would be fun. By Monday, P. had to cry off, so with only two sharing the plane we planned for a shorter trip.  Kilkenny became the new target.

We put in a quick phone call on Monday to confirm that the airport was open but all we got was disappointing news.  Only 400 meters of the runway was available.  Neither I nor M. felt we could get the C172 in and out safely so our horizon contracted even further - if it is possible to "contract further".

We settled on Kilrush Airfield in county Kildare - a short bimble but any flying is better than no flying.

M. flew the leg down and it was remarkably quiet out.  No sign of any traffic and very little activity in Kilrush when we floated in. It seems that family commitments take precedence over flying on bank holiday weekends.  There was a little bumpy air around with the easterly breeze, rolling off the mountains. The visibility was fantastic though. I still haven't figure out how far south we could actually see but on the route home we could definitely see Kingscourt in Cavan and, we think, the Mourne Mountains.  I don't think I've ever seen visibility that good and certainly not after a prolonged warm spell.  A few days of the glorious weather we've been having normally means quite a lot of haze but not yesterday.

Yesterday was spectacular..... if only we managed some more flying

120 knots indicated, ha, ha ha

Apparently, flight testing has revealed that my Luscombe is good for a 120 knots indicated.  I'll break with the long established traditions of aviators and anglers and I'll tell the truth: HI doesn't do 120 knots.  However, in her defense, HI will do a quite respectable 90 knots with the power set 2350 rpm.  This speed was established by taking GPS-based averages into- and down- wind.

In terms of maximum speed, Pete didn't want to run the engine full out for too long but he thought that 110 was HI's top speed.  I'm happy with 90 knots though.  Given that I'm still a novice pilot, it's probably a good idea that the plane and my brain travel at the same speed for now.  All of my training was done at that speed and its a handy number for mental calculations - 1.5 nautical miles a minute. That's an easy enough number for time and distance calculations. For navigation calculations, the maximum drift in degrees can be calculated by the following rule of thumb:

(60/TAS) X Wind Speed = Max Drift

With a speed of 90 knots, that calculation can be simplified:

Wind Speed / (90/60) = Max Drift

or

Wind Speed / 1.5 = Max Drift.

....well in my head, it's easier.

All of the rest of test data has been gathered at this stage and the paperwork is to be submitted to the LAA in the coming days.  Pete's going to do some more shake-down flying.  There have already been a few tweaks - the brakes have been adjusted, new oil filter that sort of thing. It's nearly nearly ready to come home, if only I could say the same about me.

120 knots a Luscombe, that would be good, particularly flying her home over the Irish Sea.

Permit to Test Changes

There's been no real update on HI though we've discovered the Permit to Test requirements have changed slightly.  We thought that there was a 5 hour test period but that's not the case.  The LAA requirement is that a specified test schedule be carried out.  If that can be carried out satisfactorily in one or two hours then that is all that is required by the LAA. Pete and I have agreed that in any case, a minimum 5 hour shake-down would be prudent - so a shake-down there shall be.

The weather still isn't particularly great for test flying so I expect things will be quiet here.  

Spitfire, What Spitfire?

I'm just back from Haverfordwest last night. What a ferry crossing, gusting 48knots, 16 foot swells.  It was a complete contrast from the outward trip on Thursday. The ferry was also delayed yesterday meaning I didn't get home till nearly midnight. What a trek but, wow, was it worth it.

Pete picked me up from Pembroke dock on Thursday and after a quick cuppa and a toastie at his house it was up to the airport to see my aeroplane. Haverfordwest has a an interesting gathering of aeroplanes in its hangars, everything from a Nieuport replica to a Harvard along with the usual collection of Pipers and Cessnas. Hangar number 4 was where I wanted to be though.

We walked in the side door and the first thing I saw was big, old Tiger Moth in RAF trainer yellow, then a PA-28 and Tomahawk. Negotiating my way around the front of the Rotorway Exec and the back of the Tiger Moth, I saw my Luscombe, nestled between the Beech Duke and the PA-28.  This was the first time I'd seen HI in nine months and so much had been done since. Now she is complete.  Back then she was a cream fuselage in a garage, now she's an aeroplane, just waiting to fly. I still couldn't not believe that this beautiful machine is mine.

Simon, Pete's LAA inspector stopped by for a natter, so it took a little longer than planned to get stuck in to the technical training. While we had Simon around we used his extra pair of hands to move the Tiger Moth out of the way so we could bring HI outside.  The weather wasn't fantastic but it was clearing a bit and Pete thought there might be a chance of getting HI up for some more test flying.  As it turned out, it turned again and we never even got as far as starting her, so we wheeled both the Tiger Moth and HI back in again and we just kept at the "ground school"  It was interesting to see HI and the the 'Moth together.  Originally built in 1941, my Luscombe is the same vintage as the Tiger Moth but they look worlds apart.

Well after a few hours going over HI and deciding that there would be no flying, we put HI to bed and  we retired to Pete's for food and more study - of the paperwork and technical drawing kind.

The following morning, brought more scuddy weather and the arm that Pete had twisted the previous day wasn't much better.  He lifted a light box out of the plane but somehow managed to pull something doing it; it was decided that it was best that he get it checked. So why he went to the doc I went to the airfield.  I spent a bit of time nosing around HI and, of course, you just have to do a hangar inspection to see what's based there.  There are quite a few aeroplanes there but many are hangar queens and many don't do any flying in the winter - not that you can tell the difference between May and winter lately.  With that in mind I moved myself to the cafe.

The cafe in Haverfordwest, or Whithybush Airport as it used to be called, isn't quite as posh as the one in Weston, but it certainly isn't as expensive either.  It's small but they're friendly, do a great fry and a good mug of coffee.  I sat there for a while watching one lonely 152 circuit bash under the clag and listening to the banter of the local airport bums. They looked like airport bums too, complete with anoracks, big glasses and elbow patches.  After a while Pete turned up and we tucked into a bacon bap and a pot of tea.  It was a bit frustrating for Pete having been with the medics for a couple of hours - all he had to do was rest iti and it would heal but I didn't mind the delays so much I got to do what I do best  - hang around airports and aeroplanes. 

I was then introduced to one of those airport bums I saw in the cafe.  Ray is one of the prime movers behind acquiring and restoring the Welsh Spitfire.  He graciously showed me around what the currently have.  It's has a long way to go to being a flying Spitfire but it was instantly recognisable and I was still awestruck. Maybe by the time it's ready to fly, I will be ready to fly it.

We moved back to hangar 4 and started to remove cowlings and floor boards to continue my Luscombe appreciation classes.  There is lot lot to learn but the Luscombe is a mechanically simple aeroplane and while I'll be apprehensive about having to look after it properly, I don't think it will take that long for me to get used to.  We looked at normal oiling a greasing, 50 hour check items and the care and use of the O-200. We did a Luscombe walk around and how to ground handle her.  It's not a difficult aeroplane to manoever but there is a right way and a "don't even think about it" way, so it was good to get that clear.  We moved to hand-swinging.  HI has a lovely shiny new Skytec starter so it's not absolutely necessary but it is a good still to have the skill as I discovered.

The weather cleared up a bit so we decided to bring HI out to start it up and maybe taxi around.  While HI has a shiny new starter it has an old style generator which mean until the engine is up and running at 1800+ rpm it doesn't charge the battery.  Luscombe's are small aeroplanes and it takes a bit of agility to climb aboard.  It takes even more agility to squeeze me and Pete into the cosy cabin. Starting the Continental engine is easy; two primes, mixture rich, throttle cracked open, mags on, press the starter button and then ... Thunk! With all the starting and ground testing Pete has been doing HI's battery was being used a lot and generator hadn't really been up the the revs needed to keep the battery charged. So Pete clambered out and we went for a hand swing.

Six blades to get the fuel in the cylinders, brakes on, mags on, contact and she fired on the first blade.  Pete climbs aboard again, and we go for a little taxi.  First thing to know about the Luscombe is that the brakes are rubbish, cable-pull, Shinn affairs. The second is you need to be very quick but light on the pedals.  We taxi around Haverfordwest's tarmac runways ... very carefully. I could see how it's going to take me a while to to get used to it.  It is not tremendously difficulty but the Luscombe will not tolerate a second of inattention.  

The combination of 0-200 and tarmac makes it a little more difficult - the 0-200 idles higher than say the C-65 meaning the aeroplane wants to taxi that bit faster.  I think had it been on grass, with the higher friction, it would have been easier.  The rudder and brake pedals are close together which isn't that nice a set up to be honest.  Using one or the other is okay but dancing between the two will me some practise.  I can see why one Luscombe Guru advocates flying in your socks.  As for groundlooping; it is delightfully easy to do; it's a direct consequence of that inattention I mentioned; it's very easy to spot coming and something I'm very keen to avoid.  I taxied her back to near the ramp shut her down, had a few quite words in her cowling about her future behaviour  and we walked her back to the hangar.

The sun was beginning to shine but with no sign of the wind to die down to allow some test flying we decided to call it a day.  If you can't go flying, go for food and so off we headed for a Chinese. There was more aeroplane talk that night; some tech talk, some paperwork, it continued down in the pub with some more flying stories of Pete's time based in Kinloss.  It was a great way to end an evening, talking and learning about Luscombes.

Packing my bag that night in preparation for the ferry home the next day it struck me that I never thought I would have seen the day come, when seeing a Spitfire wasn't the highlight of my day.  I had spent my day up to my eyes in Luscombes, learning about them, dismantling them, handling them.  In that day, tinkering with and taxiing around in HI, it suddenly moved from being Pete's latest restoration to feeling like my very own aeroplane - right now, the most important aeroplane there is.

Spitfire, what Spitfire?

Heading to Haverfordwest

I'm going to Wales for a couple of days this week. Sadly, I'll be travelling by ferry unless someone wants to offer to fly me over. The purpose of my trip; to see my new aeroplane and to get a crash-course (unfortunate phrase) in aircraft ownership.  The forecast isn't great for the rest of the week so it's unlikely that I'll see HI fly.  I'm going to be confined to making aeroplane noises sitting in the cockpit, well maybe I'll get to start her up.

In any case, most of the time over there will be spent learning my way around the Luscombe.  Pete has his work cut out for him.  When in comes to machinery, I'm an interested amateur so he's got a lot of teaching to do.  I've got technical aptitude just not a lot of experience - I missed out on the whole tinkering with cars as a teenager - so I tend to need hand-holding.  I'm looking forward to it though; I've been trying to resurrect my old mini to get me in the mood (I got her started yesterday, next project)

Things will probably go quiet here for a bit but I'll try to keep you posted on progress.

New Home...

.... not me silly, for my aeroplane.  I met with an airfield owner the other day and it looks like I have secured hangarage HI.  I'm not saying nought about where yet until she's safely ensconced - I really don't want to tempt fate.  It's reasonably close to where I live and a runway sufficiently long enough for a neophyte tailwheel pilot.  By all accounts the Luscombe should be able to get out of a 350m strip but I'm nowhere near being that capable yet.

I'm hoping to go see my aeroplane next week, more details as they happen folks.

First Test Flight.

My aeroplane flew for the next time yesterday - a brief 15 minutes but she flew. I got an exited text from my friend followed by an email that evening - 

 "HI went like a rocket and flew straight and level, engine  seemed very  responsive and free revving, trimmed back for the  approach the  balance was just right (unlike.. most metal  wingers), in  fact, unusually I will have to adjust the trim to  give a little  more bias to nose down."

I don't know which of us were more excited, me or Pete.  I'm hoping to go over and see it next week.  It'll be a while yet before she's on these shores and there's still plenty of planning and preparation to be done. Going out this evening to sort out some hangarage hopefully.

What an adventure this is going to be.

My Smiley Luscombe

Well after nearly two years of restoration, what is now my aeroplane is almost ready.  She's been fully rebuilt by a real craftsman.  This is the third Luscombe Pete has rebuilt and as a result of all that work he's has become a technical guru on the type.  One of the great things about Pete is that not only is he skilled as an engineer but he has a sympathetic approach to the look of these aeroplanes - it doesn't have to be stock but it does have to look right - and she really looks right!

My Luscombe started life as a Luscombe 8a but was subsequently converted to an 8e model.  She's a little unusual in that she's a rag-wing Luscombe.  They were built with both rag- and metal wings but mostly you seem to see the metal wing versions.  There doesn't appear to any difference in the way the two different wings fly - though it is reckoned that the rag-wings are 50lbs lighter than their aluminium counterparts.  When it comes to aeroplanes, lighter is better.

Tucked under that cheeky cowling is a 100hp Continetal, which I hope will see me tearing around the country at a dizzying 85 knots. Does the lack of speed bother me?  No way, it just means more time in the air for every journey and more time in the air is what it's all about.

While the aeroplane itself is finished there's still plenty more to do. We're waiting for the permit to test. Once (if) that comes through Pete will do the test flying.  After that I need to do my training on her. That could take some time - it takes me a while to learn new motor skills but I really do have to learn those taildragger dance moves. I know I own her but right now I feel more like a guardian and the last thing I want to do is to bend this beautiful aeroplane.

She is a beautiful, smiley and aeroplane and above all she's mine.

[Update: Permit to Test just came through the post today - first flight on Monday hopefully !]